Nevada non-Hispanic white population shrinks

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's non-Hispanic, white population shrunk in all but three counties from 2010 to 2012, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Washoe County, covering Reno-Sparks, and Humboldt County in rural north-central Nevada each had a fraction of a percentage point increase in non-Hispanic white population over the two years, the bureau said.

Northeast Nevada's Elko County posted the only significant gain, about 3 percent, in a trend the Reno Gazette-Journal first reported on Monday (http://tinyurl.com/ldrlcnb).

The Latino population, Nevada's largest minority, grew about 5.1 percent in the two largest counties — Clark and Washoe. In Clark County, including Las Vegas, the Asian population grew even faster — about 6.4 percent.

Nevada's overall population grew 2.2 percent over the two years to a total of more than 2.7 million. About 54 percent of Nevada is now white, non-Hispanic; 27 percent Hispanic or Latino; 8.6 percent black and 7.7 percent Asian, according to the figures released Thursday.

The census report did not break down which Asian nationalities contributed to the growth. However, in October 2011, the bureau sent Clark County Voter Registrar Larry Lomax a letter telling him that the Filipino population crossed a threshold and Clark County now must offer ballots in the Filipino language of Tagalog.

The 27.1 percent of Nevadans who consider themselves Hispanic or Latino is significantly more than the national average of 16.7, as is the Asian percentage of 7.7 percent compared to the national average of 5 percent.

The Asian population grew about 3 percent in Washoe County and 5 percent in Elko County, where the number of Hispanics climbed 7 percent, the Census Bureau said.

Lyon and Nye counties each recorded about a 3 percent decline in their non-Hispanic white population. Nye County showed a 14 percent gain in Asian population and a 1 percent increase in Hispanics, while Lyon County posted 2 percent gains among both minority groups.

In Carson City, both the Hispanic and Asian populations grew more than 12 percent, while non-Hispanic whites declined about 2 percent.

Douglas County also reported a 14 percent increase in Asians and 5 percent increase in Hispanics, while the non-Hispanic whites dropped 1 percent.